Rafiki/Main article
Go to My Rafiki is a mandrill hybrid who serves as an adviser to the lion king. Since Ahadi was king, Rafiki was an advisor to Mufasa and even Scar; he currently serves Simba. Physical Attributes Rafiki is an old, and hunched over primate. Along with those features, he has wide eyes and a large smile. Though he somewhat resembles a mandrill, Rafiki has a long tail and lacks a distinctive crested head, and is referred to usually as a baboon. Info Rafiki is a mandrill/baboon hybrid who first appeared in the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Lion King. He lives in a baobab tree and is old (presumably) and wise. He performs activities which are similar too that of a shaman, but also sometimes quite silly. He tends to speak in third person when speaking of himself. Rafiki provides important counsel to the adult Simba when the latter is trying to determine his destiny. His tail looks broken and bent. His name means "my friend" in Swahili, a borrowing from the Arabic word, (رفيق , rafīq meaning friend, companion, or attendant. He is known as the shaman of the Pride Lands. Though he may be old and weary (he has a bad knee), he can still pack a wallop with his kung-fu action if necessary. He often pops up in a bizarre manner to teach his wisdom in a rather roundabout way, and has the ability to read omens and communicate with the Great Kings of the Past. The Lion King Rafiki first appears by entering Simba's ceronomial presentation and greets Mufasa on top of Pride Rock. A few moments later, he presents newborn Simba to all the animals gathered at Pride Rock, and draws a stylized lion cub of him on the walls of his tree house home to represent Simba's birth. When Simba runs away and his family believes him to be dead, Rafiki draws his paw across the Simba drawing, obscuring it in grief. Later, after picking up Simba's scent in the dust and pollen in the air, Rafiki determines that Simba is still alive and restores the drawing, adding the full mane of an adult lion as a sign to seek out this young deliverer from Scar's tyranny. Journeying to the area where Simba lives with Timon and Pumbaa, Rafiki observes Simba and recognizes, at least in principle, that he is suffering from a ponderous emotional burden. To treat it, he approaches the young lion and teaches him a few playful (and sometimes painful) lessons about learning from the past, not living in it. He also points out that the spirit and values of Simba's dead father, Mufasa, continue to live in Simba himself. During this scene, Rafiki incessantly repeats the Swahili phrase "Asante sana, squash banana, we we nugu, mi mi apana," which roughly translates to "Thank you very much, squash banana, you are a baboon, and I am not." When Simba decides to return to Pride Rock and fight Scar for the kingship, Rafiki accompanies him, demonstrating his kung fu skills in battle against the hyenas. At the end of the film, Rafiki raises Simba and Nala's newborn cub atop Pride Rock for everyone to see, echoing the beginning of the film. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride In the sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Rafiki appears in the beginning again as the presenter of Simba and Nala's newborn cub, Kiara. Later on in the film, despite protesting that Simba and Zira would forbid it, he is persuaded by Mufasa's spirit to attempt to get Zira's son Kovu and Kiara to fall in love. He tries to make Kiara and Scar's heir Kovu fall in love with each other by taking them to a fantasy paradise called "Upendi". Later, when Simba exiles Kovu, he was seen sighing sadly of Kovu leaving. In the end, he acts as the host of Kiara and Kovu's wedding. The Lion King 1½ "You have to look beyond what you see". -Rafiki talking to Timon the Merkat Rafiki appears briefly in The Lion King 1½, and is referred to by Timon as "The Omniscient Monkey". It is revealed that it was Rafiki who taught Timon the philosophy of "Hakuna Matata". Besides appearing in the scenes he appeared in the original film, Rafiki also appears in a scene where he chats with Ma about telling Timon to "look beyond what he sees". Mistakening Rafiki's words of wisdom, Ma starts on her "journey of a thousand miles" to find Timon by angrily stepping on Rafiki's foot. Finally, he is in a scene where he tries to convince Timon go back to join his friends against Scar, albeit saying nothing but "My work here is done" after Timon goes to find Pumbaa on his own. A deleted scene from the film revealed that Rafiki was the movie's original narrator. The Lion King (musical) In the musical based on the film, the character of Rafiki the baboon went through a minor change. Because director Julie Taymor felt that the story lacked the presence of a strong female, Rafiki was changed into a female mandrill. The role was originated on Broadway by Tsidii Le Loka, who was nominated for a Tony Award in 1998 for her performance. Rafiki's role is expanded in the musical. She sings the song, "Circle of Life" and her painting scene is extended. She also sings a song called "Rafiki Mourns", in which she mourns Mufasa's death in the Zulu language. She also has a brief role in Nala's song "Shadowland", blessing Nala for her journey to find help. Instead of finding Simba's scent on dust, Rafiki hears Simba's song "Endless Night" through the wind. Rafiki meets Simba and shows him that his father lives on inside him through the song "He Lives in You". Along with that, Rafiki's "Asante Sana" chant is completely changed. She is present during the battle, fighting a hyena using hand-to-hand combat. She then appears adorning Simba with the king's mantle and then presents his newborn cub at the end of the musical. Other Appearances *It was revealed in The Lion King: Six New Adventures, "A Tale of Two Brothers" that Rafiki was not always a resident of the Pride Lands. *Rafiki appears in a few episodes of The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa TV series and also has his own segment called "Rafiki's Fables". *Rafiki is a regular guest at Mickey Mouse's night club in the TV series House of Mouse. * He appears as a minor non-playable character in the Pride Lands world of the popular Disney/Square Enix video game Kingdom Hearts II. *Rafiki also appears at the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as a meet and greet character. All Voice Actors *'The Lion King - (1994) - (film)' - Robert Guillaume *'The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa - (1995-1998) - (TV series)' - Robert Guillaume *'The Lion King (musical) - (1997) - (musical)' - Tsidii Le Loka (original actress) *'The Lion King II: Simba's Pride - (1998) - (film)' - Robert Guillame (speaking and singing) *'The Lion King 1½ - (2004) - (film)' - Robert Guillaume *'Kingdom Hearts II - (2005) - (video game)' - Robert Guillaume Songs *Circle of Life (musical only) *Rafiki Mourns *He Lives in You *Upendi Name origin The word rafiki means friends in the Swahili language, a language spoken throughout parts of Africa. He was most likely named this as he is friends with a lot of characters. Gallery File:128512118532535-cw.png|Rafiki the_lion_king_image26.jpg|Rafiki painting The-Lion-King-2-the-lion-king-2-simbas-pride-4684856-850-504.jpg|Rafiki the Wise Old Baboon Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Pridelanders Category:Otherlanders Category:Protagonists Category:Mandrills